Vesperia Scribbles
by Moritatus
Summary: Short snippets based on prompts challenge. Yurita centric.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Tales of Vesperia and it's characters are not mine.

Prompt 1: Destroy

Destruction was something she was familiar with.

As a child, she couldn't help but unintentionally massacre her social life with her lack of people skills. As she got older and people learned to keep away, she became immersed in her research and her only contact with other living beings were with the monsters she had to annihilate on her travels to aer krenes.

Her words and spells easily obliterated the things around her into so much dust and ashes that at times, she herself felt like dust and ashes. Her life was proof that destruction created only emptiness, a lack of all things but her books and research.

But now, ever since Yuri Lowell waltzed into her life, this fact seems to be disproven time and again. Because when she sees him, she is reminded of how much more living she has done since the abrupt sabatoge of her old life through joining the ragtag group. When she casts her spells to defend this not-quite-family, the weight of satisfaction is more substantial than ashes. When she watches him whirling his sword around, a purple black blur dancing among sprays of blood, destroying everything in their path, she can't help but feel a twinge of something so much warmer than dust. And when they walk away, bruised and breathless but alive from battle, she can't help but think that maybe destruction can result a whole lot of unforeseen somethings after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Prompt 2: Bittersweet

"What's your favorite type of chocolate, Yuri?" Karol asked. It was one of the most anticipated days of the year, the day of giving and receiving chocolate.  
"Dark."  
"Eh?! But those aren't sweet at all! In fact, they're really bitter and gross."  
"What can I say? I like the contrast. And you just haven't had the right kind if you think they're not sweet. "  
"Where on earth do you even find those?"  
Yuri didn't reply but quirked his lips up in a half smile and remembered what had happened earlier that day.

The girls had decided to make chocolate for everyone and it was obviously Estelle's idea to ensure that no one would be left chocolate-less on this day. However, she was unable to supervise the entire chocolate-making process and Rita, with her questionable culinary skills, ended up making an entire batch of extra dark chocolate. These were not revealed to the group and Yuri only found out from a passing comment Judy made about it being a shame that Rita's chocolates turned out too bitter to share. Undoubtedly, the little mage was embarrassed that she fudged such an easy recipe and decided to keep her creations to herself, seeing as Judy and Estelle made more than enough sweet chocolates for everyone.

Yuri cornered Rita hours later as she tried to devour all her bitter ones while everyone else was off frolicking by the river, running on a sugar high.  
"So I heard you made some chocolates."  
Rita glared. "Haven't you had enough?"  
"No. You know, not sharing's not nice, Rita."  
"Who said I was a nice person to begin with?" She said haughtily and shoved the rest of her small handful in her mouth to prevent him to snatching one. She chewed furiously.  
Yuri huffed a laugh. "Guess I'll just have to take them by force."  
He leaned in, pressing Rita against the tree and capturing her lips. In her bewildered state, Yuri easily coaxed her mouth open and sampled the chocolate. He drew back and watched as she flushed and stuttered, " T-they're too bitter." "No," he smirked, "but maybe I should try them again, just to be sure." As it turns out, Rita's kisses were a blend of sweet and bitter that Yuri found intoxicating. Or perhaps that was just Rita.


	3. Chapter 3

Prompt 3: Love

It amused Yuri greatly to tease Rita.  
Ever since he found out about her aversion to all things related to love, he couldn't resist prodding her into a flustered mess with it.

"I thought you were disgusted with my love-filled croquettes," he said, settling down next to her after cooking up a batch of the potato dish for dinner.  
Rita flushed. "Sh-shut up! And don't remind me!"  
He quirked an eyebrow. "It's alright to admit that they're your favorite you know."  
"There's just nothing else to eat, that's all!"  
"You keep telling yourself that, Rita, if it makes you sleep better at night, but we all know the truth. Here, have this one. I made it with extra love, just for you."  
"Ooh, I ought to throw this at you, but it'd be a waste of ingredients."  
"Aww Rita, I didn't know you cared about my love." He leaned closer. "Don't worry, I have plenty to go around," he said next to her ear.  
"Argh!" She threw a punch at him, which he dodged with a laugh.  
"You! You- there's no talking to you!" She stormed off, blushing furiously and rubbing at her ear.

Raven commented, "You were the type ta play with fire as a kid, weren't ya?"  
"What can I say? I just can't help it."

~•~

It became his favorite pastime. He would rile her up and tweak her tail, so to speak, and she would huff and glare and turn bright red.  
But she didn't particularly complain. In fact, there were days when he could tell she enjoyed their banter. Though, the fact that she would never admit it, made it all the more entertaining.

"Hey Rita!" He held out his hand.  
"What? What do you want now?"  
He grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. "And to think that you had initiated the hand holding just a little while ago."  
Her face lit up tomato red. "I was inspecting the ring!" She said, tugging futilely at her hand.  
"Excuses, excuses."  
"What?! Are you calling me liar?"  
"No, I'm just saying you're in denial."  
"Am not! You take that back or else!"  
They continued on bantering and the conversation eventually turned to include other topics and the rest of the group.  
Throughout it all, he did notice that for all her posturing and threats, she made no more attempts at letting go of his hand.

Somehow, after that, something had changed. Actual conversations became easier to have. The teasing dialogue would lead way into late night discussions and slowly, she opened up to him, and he to her.  
They conversed on all manner of things. Not that he understood all the things about in-depth research or obscure literature that she talked to Estelle about, but he never got tired of talking to her, or pushing her buttons and watching her heat up into a tizzy. Simply just being with her made life more interesting.  
He knew he loved her then.  
And things became clear once he admitted that to himself. The way he couldn't stop touching her and ruffling her hair, or how his eyes would follow the sashay of her hips and trace the curve of her neck, he knew he found her beautiful in a way wholly different from the other women in the group.  
And seeing her, eyes bright and bristling like a miffed cat, gave him the overwhelming urge to drag her off to a corner and keep that expression all to himself.  
So one day, having worked her up into a flurry, he gave in to impulse and kissed her.  
She had blinked, still flushed in that lovely shade of red, and to his relief, pulled him to her for another.

~•~

Yuri had made dinner again and everyone else had eaten and fallen asleep quickly from another grueling day of travel. Now, he is sitting awake with Rita sprawled across his lap as she reads a book and nibbles on leftover croquettes.  
"Well, what do you think of the taste of my croquettes now?" He asks as he curls a lock of her hair around his finger.  
She glances back at him slyly out of the corner of her eye."You mean to say you've been making out with all of them?"  
Yuri laughs. "Uh, not quite. But Rita, if you wanted other examples of how I show my love, all you had to do was ask."  
"What?! No-I-Mmmpphff!" He sticks the rest of the croquette in her mouth and gathers her up in his arms, tightening his hold around her.  
He nuzzles her, pressing his cheek to hers and breathes in the scent of books and brimstone and something that is purely Rita.  
She chews quickly and swallows. "Yuri, you-"  
"Shh- don't move and don't talk. I won't be able to stop from kissing you and then how will I prove that there is more to my love than just kisses. Just let me hold you and tell you that I love you."  
She relaxes and leans into him.  
After a while, as he is beginning to drift off, she mutters, "I love you too."  
"Hm?"  
She moves to face him fully."You heard me! And I happen to like your kisses! So-so-"  
Yuri smiles, and presses his lips to hers.

Love, he knows, makes his croquettes delicious, but the unadulterated essence itself, he thinks, must taste a lot like Rita.

AN: Imagine my surprise when I logged on and found that I had my first review ever! So StormOfTheNorth, this one's for you!


	4. Chapter 4

Prompt 4: Hate

Rita hates the idea of ghosts. Well, hate might be too strong a word, but it's better than fear in this case.

Though, she is not scared.

And if she's shaking just a little, it's the cold.

Having to go onto the creepy, disintegrating ship to look for the rest of the group is not her idea of fun.

But, she will not run and hide while the others go searching, no matter how much she wanted to stay away.

"Ooh, when I get my hands on them, sinking to the bottom of the ocean is going to be the least of their worries."

Karol nervously glances around. "C-chill out, Rita. We should try to keep quiet and not stomp around so much."

"Chill out?! We wouldn't even have to be here if they didn't decide to go exploring." Rita bristles, crossing her arms in an attempt to still her trembling.

Raven gives her an appraising look.

"Wait a minute... Yer not scared, are ya?" He asks keenly.

"W-what?! N-no way! Shut up old man! Ooh, I'll show you scared! Fireball!"

"Ah!"

* * *

So she is scared. She'll admit it to herself.

Rita starts mentally reciting incantations to keep her mind off the creaking of the ship and the cold damp air permeating through her clothes, causing the hair on the back of her neck to prickle.

It just reminds her of her childhood, of a time when the nights were lonely and dark, and there was no one around to wake her from her sweat-drenched nightmares of invulnerable monsters, half-remembered parents, and death. All she had for comfort, then, was her threadbare blanket and the burning desire to not be afraid anymore.

And soon after, she found blastia and magic. She began her research and became too obsessed with that to even think about fear.

They called her a genius, and she'll admit that certain things came easily to her but even so, much of what she had achieved was a result of working and learning and pushing herself until she was too exhausted to think, much less dream.

The nightmares had eventually stopped, more or less. And it had been a long while since she felt like a fearful child. But ever since she left most of her research behind to follow this group, there were nights when she barely managed to stifle screams as she woke. She had not anticipated the considerable amount of time she had to think freely.

Logically, there should be no such thing as ghosts. All her books and research indicated that once the energy that sustains life leaves, the sheer amount of power required to reintroduce- She stops herself. That way lies the absurd notion of necromancy and it's ridiculous to even continue down this train of thought.

Once people died, they no longer exist in this world. Dead people can't reach out and touch you, can't feel anything, and they certainly can't hang around ships in the middle of the ocean.

So, she concentrates on the fact that there are no such things as ghosts.

No. Such. Thing.

Her pulse is not racing from fear.

She's calm and collected and Yuri is so dead when she finds him for forcing her hand and putting her through this.

Something grabs at the back of her shirt.

"Ahh-!"

"Gahhhh!" Karol screams from behind her.

Raven whips around, scanning the room. "What? What's going on?"

"You little twerp! Don't just grab onto me like that! Have you no concept of personal space?"

"I-I just think we'd be safer if we stayed close together in a group."

"Well, you can stay closer to the old man," Rita snapped, getting edgy from Karol's palpable nervousness.

Determined to convince herself, she adds, "Besides, there's nothing to be afraid of," and walks ahead.

"Wait Rita! T-there's s-s-something in the mirror!"

"Man, I knew there was somethin' spooky about this place."

She turns and finds that it is just a group of poltergeists. She only needs to remember to breathe and use her incantations and she'll be fine. These are just simple, defeatable monsters and she is not powerless.

So she shoves fear into a box and concentrates on the now. "O' flickering blaze burn..."

* * *

When they open the door after fighting their way through a few more battles, they find the rest of the group on the other side looking no worse for wear.

Yuri greets them, "Hey hey, you decided to come along for the ride too?"*

"You!" The tension that had filled her ever since she stepped onto the ship snaps and Rita launches herself at him, arms outstretched towards his neck. "I'm going to strangle you with my bare hands!"

Yuri catches her reflexively."Woah, Rita, what's gotten into you?"

"Don't worry about it. Just let me take a swing at your face and it will all be forgiven," she said, struggling against his hold.

"Well, are you going to take responsibility if I can't get married?"

"Wha- what does that have to do with anything?!"

"It's what the lady back in my hometown used to say. She would go, 'Yuri, you're a troublesome rascal, and that face of yours is what's going to reel in all the ladies someday, so take good care of yourself, y'hear?' So this face of mine is pretty important."

Yuri relaxes his hold on her once he sees that he has confused her into a curious state of partially sedated anger and flustered embarrassment.

The potential depth of color that her cheeks could reach beckons to him, so he adds, "But if you really want to Rita, I don't mind if it's you that I get to spend old age with." Then he leans in to whisper, "Though, if you want some hints as to where would be a more effective place to lay your hands on me..."

Rita sputters angrily, flushing red.

Estelle hurriedly cuts in before Rita could inflict fatal damage to him. "Yuri, I don't think physical appearance is all there is to choosing someone."

"No," Judith says and smiles sassily as she joins into the conversation, "but you'd be surprised what a difference a pretty face can make."

Karol frowns pensively. "I'm pretty sure that was just the old lady's way of telling you she cares about you, Yuri."

"Or our resident pretty boy here is working his charm on all the cougars too, if you know what I mean." Raven winks, throwing his arms around Rita and Karol.

"Shut it, you old pervert!" Rita sends a punch at him, finally finding an outlet for her aggression.

"Oof!" Raven retreats to the far side of the circle nursing his stomach where she punched him.

Yuri chuckles, "Hey, let's save the goofing off for later. We've still got the rest of this ship to explore."

Karol glances around nervously, as if suddenly reminded that they were on a ghost ship."Eh heh heh, yeah." He shudders. "Let's get out of here quickly."*

* * *

After obtaining the clear ciel crystal and getting off the Atherum, they set the course to Nordopolica and everyone goes below deck to get some rest.

Rita spends hours in the darkness of her bunk trying to sleep. But, in the quiet, with her adrenaline spent hours ago, the box she had placed her fear in crumbles and when she closes her eyes, her demons appear.

Deciding to forgo rest all together, she heads outside.

Rita huddles in a thin blanket by a few barrels on the deck, watching the night ocean. If only she had brought more of her research, she could have focused on blastia instead of having her thoughts go back to her past once more.

Keep it together, she angrily thinks to herself. So what if there were weird coincidences on that ship? It doesn't mean that there are ghosts. Her parents, wherever they are after death, are most certainly not here haunting her or cursing her into reliving how they died night after night. After all, pain and regret are emotions that everyone probably feels anyway, without curses. She slumps. Suddenly, she feels bone-weary. Why can't she overcome these nightmares? Surely she has done enough remembering for a lifetime.

It was then that Yuri finds her.

"Can't sleep?" He asks.

"No." She hopes he takes the hint that she doesn't feel like talking. The state of her mind is a little too...untidy... at the moment and she might give away more than she is willing to share.

He steps closer and settles down beside her.

...Apparently not.

"Hey... you're shaking."

Rita curls into herself tighter. "Just-just leave me alone."

She could feel him glancing at her.

Yuri sighs. "I know you said you didn't want to go onto the Atherum, so I didn't take you with me to explore. Sorry for causing you to come after us anyway."

"Count yourself lucky that I don't feel like fireballing your sorry behind right now."

"Our little spitfire doesn't feel like casting? Hell must have frozen over."

"Ha."

* * *

Yuri considers her. The moonlight brings into focus the pallor of her skin and the shadows both beneath and within her eyes and he begins to realize why she is more prickly than usual. Her drawn visage and the set of her shoulders are reminiscent of the nights when he had looked himself in the mirror, plagued by thoughts and unable to sleep.

He does not like that expression on her face, so he speaks to draw her mind to him.

"When I was younger, I lived in the lower quarters of Zaphias. I don't remember my parents; the ladies at the marketplace raised me. Well, and our youngest-captain-of-the-knights Flynn too." He raises a knee up and props an arm on it, getting comfortable. "One day, they decided to close up shop early and took us to the beach. It was there that I encountered my first taste of true fear."

He could see that he had her attention by the scrutinizing slant of her eyes towards him.

"To cut a long story short, Flynn and I decided to have a little race. I swam out too far and almost drowned. Luckily for me, one of the ladies used to be a swimming champion and she saw me go under. Saved my life." He leans his head back. "Ever since, even just the thought of the ocean sends fear through my body."

Rita eyes him skeptically. "Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that you're quaking in terror because we're at sea right now," she said, gaze lingering on his still hands.

He smiles wryly. "People show fear differently. But, more importantly, I learned to get over it for the most part. You can't live your life in fear. For many things, if you just face it, it's not as bad as it seemed."

She frowns at him. "Only a hot-headed idiot would do something so reckless like engaging in activities where he almost died the first time around."

Yuri laughs. "Maybe. But, I got tired of waking up gasping for breath, and reliving the feeling of drowning. So I went back, many, many times. Eventually, I stopped having those kinds of nightmares because I swam so much that I replaced it with memories where I'm not drowning. Though it doesn't mean I'm not still afraid on some level. "

He reaches over to grasp her hand in his, relaxing enough so that she could feel the fine tremors he usually keeps under tight control. "Some things are instinctual. I just keep a lid on it better than most."

"Why would you even get on a ship like this?"

He smirks, "I like living on the edge."

Rita narrows her eyes. "You mean to say that we all ended up on that rotting scrap of soon-to-be-driftwood because you wanted a _thrill_?!" She asks, outraged.

"Hey! I'm opening up my heart to you about one of my deepest fears and this is all you have to say to me?" he said, feigning hurt.

"No- That's not- I- Don't change the subject!"

"Ha- If you remember, we were on that ship in the first place to investigate why the ceres blastia stopped working. Though..." He glances at her provokingly. "If I wanted a thrill, all I'd have to do is tease you a little, no need to go to such lengths."

She narrows her eyes at him. "_Why __you_-" Her mouth snaps shut as she glares at him. "This is some form of weird psychological manipulation and I will not fall for it."

He laughs again and shrugs. "So you caught me."

"... Idiot."

She retreats back into her mind, but she no longer has that tortured look so Yuri leaves her be and they sit in silence for a long while.

* * *

"Hey..." Rita finally speaks after another hour of ocean watching.

"Hm?"

"Thank you. For sharing, I mean. I- I have nightmares too and today's events just-"She closes her eyes and babbles, "Do you- do you really think it was cursed by some guy who died centuries ago?"

Yuri raises his eyebrows.

At his silence, she brows furrow and she jerks her hand out of his, huddling defensively. "I-I'm not afraid of ghosts! There are no such things! Just- Just give me some damn reassurance that there wasn't some stupid curse, alright?"

"Seems to me like you need a whole lot more than reassurance."

"Never mind! Forget I asked!" She stands to walk away but Yuri catches her wrist and accidentally tugs her half onto his lap.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

Yuri pauses for a moment, as if considering something, then he grasps her by the shoulders and pulls her fully against him, adjusting her so that she sat between his legs.

"Where I'm from, physical contact is important for this sort of thing. I'm giving you reassurance. And body heat it seems. You're frozen. Though if you want to take this opportunity to cope a feel, I won't hold it against you...Well, maybe I will."

"What?! I'm not the old man! If anyone's coping a feel, it's you!"

"Look, let's just say it's cold out here and I- understand what you're going through and just leave it at that."

She glances up at him suspiciously, and sighs. "Fine."

Rita spreads out her blanket so that it covers the both of them. When she hears him make a small noise of amusement, she blushes and hastily says, "I'm not doing this for you! It's just easier to leech off your body heat this way."

Yuri smiles into her hair, deciding against mentioning that it's also easier to leech off heat without a barrier of clothing. "Go ahead and sleep. I will keep watch and wake you up if you dream. "

She releases a breath, allowing herself to lean into him and be lulled to sleep by the beat of his heart, solid and comforting. She's so tired. So maybe, maybe just this once.

* * *

* in game

AN: Dedicated to all my readers, but with extra love for AngelWithACrookedHalo, dark drow, StormOfTheNorth, and SaltyJak. Thank you so much for your reviews and I'm terribly sorry this took so long, but you all keep me motivated!:)


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